GRAND PRIZE WINNER: "The Perfect Match"
Celesta White, Georgia Institute of Technology / Shell, protégé

American women in Ph.D. programs in engineering are few and far between, and mentors for the ones that are can be even harder to find. As I started the third year of my graduate program in Chemical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, I decided that I needed a little guidance, support, and encouragement from a woman who had already been down the path that lay before me. I turned to MentorNet to help me find that woman, and that was the beginning of a wonderful friendship that has flourished over the past two and a half years. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the highlights of my relationship with my mentor, Jan Makos.

I can't quite remember how our dialogue began, but I do know that we immediately made a connection, and I knew that Jan was a woman whose footsteps I could see myself following in the future. She had attended graduate school in engineering, was working as a manager in industry, was a loving mother and wife, and was dedicated to encouraging women engineers to pursue their goals and dreams. She was everything I could have wished for in a mentor, and more!

If she has gotten even half as much out of this experience as I have, then her life has been blessed. ~ Celesta White

As with most Ph.D. engineering programs that are highly research oriented, my third year of grad school was extremely frustrating. All of my experiments failed, my husband and I were wondering if we would ever get a real paycheck (he was in grad school too), I doubted whether or not I really wanted a Ph.D., and I was plagued by periodic spells of depression and anxiety. That's when I turned to Jan for advice. She assured me that everyone goes through these moments in graduate school, and that it is almost always worth the momentary pains that must be experienced. Thanks to Jan, I was able to make it through my most difficult year of grad school without having a (major) nervous breakdown or blowing up my research lab.

The next year of our mentoring relationship brought a significant number of changes for both of us. My husband moved to Phoenix for a 6-month internship, I began searching for a job, Jan's youngest daughter left for college, and Jan's husband passed away unexpectedly. It was definitely a year of ups, downs, trials, and tribulations, but we stayed in touch through it all. Jan was a constant source of support as my husband and I endured a long distance relationship. As I was going through my decision-making process for my first job, I was having problems prioritizing the different aspects of the decision. Should I move closer to my family? How much does my initial salary matter? Should I make a decision before or after my husband has an offer? Through this challenging process, I was able to bounce my thoughts to Jan and get advice, support, and encouragement in return. I celebrated with Jan as her last daughter left the nest, and mourned with her at the loss of her beloved husband. Though I can't even begin to imagine what she was going through, I was amazed at how she handled the situation and with her openness in sharing this personal tragedy with me. It was a tremendous source of inspiration to read her e-mails during this time, as I was able to experience her resilience and perseverance through these brief messages.

The past year has seen both Jan and I starting new careers and moving into different stages of our lives. I only hope that my career is as successful as Jan's and that we can continue to grow with each other through the paths with both take in the future. I am looking forward to continuing this relationship with Jan because I know that I will soon have questions about starting a family, deciding whether or not I want to go into management, and a variety of other personal and professional choices that I will soon have to face. If she has gotten even half as much out of this experience as I have, then her life has been blessed. I know that without her, the past two and a half years would have been very lonely, and the decisions I have faced would have been much more difficult to make. Thank you, MentorNet, for giving me the opportunity to know this tremendous woman. Thank you, Jan, for everything!

Celesta White
Celesta White received her Bachelors of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tulsa, before pursuing her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, which she received in October of 2003. Celesta now resides in Katy, TX, and is a Research Engineer for Shell Chemical LP in Houston. She enjoys running and playing tennis, as well as traveling with her husband, Bryan.

Jan Makos-Brotherton
Jan Makos-Brotherton is a Texas Instruments assignee at International Sematech, Austin, TX. There, she works as a Program Manager with the Resist Strategy Program, Lithography Division, where she manages programs researching the development of 193nm Immersion and EUV photoresist to be used in micro technology manufacturing in the semiconductor industry. Jan has a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of Texas at Dallas. Her other interests include travel, golf, reading and her 10-pound Shih Tzu, Mia.